Skip to main content

Hyderabad encounter a 'ploy' to shut down demand for accountability from police

Counterview Desk
The All-India Progressive Women's Association (AIPWA), in a statement signed by Rati Rao, AIPWA president, Meena Tiwari, general secretary, and Kavita Krishnan, secretary, has said that the Hyderabad fake encounter has all the hallmarks of a custodial murder, insisting, "A system that offers murder as 'justice' is a system that is telling women -- we can't ensure the streets are safe, can't investigate crimes against women to ensure there's enough evidence to prove guilt, can't protect rape survivors."

Text:

The four suspects in the Hyderabad rape and murder case have been killed by the police in an early morning "encounter". This "encounter" has all the hallmarks of a custodial murder, dressed up to look like an "encounter".
Since the suspects were in police custody, and thus unarmed, it is clear that the police is lying when it claims they were killed when "attacking the police" at the crime scene where they had been taken to "recreate" the events of the night the rape-murder occurred.
We, as a country, will now be told that "justice" has been done, the victim avenged. And now we can all go back to business as usual, reassured that our police, our government, our society are righteous, and the evil rapists are no more.
But this justice is counterfeit. A system that offers murder as "justice" is a system that is telling women -- we can't ensure the streets are safe, can't investigate crimes against women to ensure there's enough evidence to prove guilt, can't protect rape survivors (one was burnt alive yesterday in UP), can't ensure that survivors get dignity in Court. All they can do is act like a lynch mob and ask us, the people, to accept lynching as the only possible justice.
We must also remember that these four men were suspects. We do not know if there was a shred of evidence proving their guilt, beyond the custodial confessions which police in India routinely obtain through torture. Torture does not reveal truth. Tortured men will say anything the torturers want to hear. So we do not even know whether the four men killed are really the ones who raped and killed the doctor in Hyderabad.
The same Hyderabad police which mocked the desperate attempts of the victim's parents to find their daughter, which is issuing "Dos and Donts for women", i.e telling women to stay home after 8 pm because the police can't/won't do their job of keeping streets safe, is now telling us to believe they caught and "punished" the rapists, and acted as Judge, jury and executioner. This is a cruel joke.
Women's movement groups will be the first to say -- this is not justice. This is a ploy to shut down our demand for accountability from the police, judiciary, governments, and justice and dignity for women. Instead of being accountable to his job and answering our questions about his Government's failures to safeguard women's rights, the Telangana CM and his police have acted as leaders of a lynch mob.
For those arguing this kind of custodial killing is a "deterrent", think again. The Hyderabad and Telangana police are notorious for this kind of custodial murder. In 2008, the Hyderabad police committed the custodial murder of three men accused in an acid attack case. That murder didn't deter crimes against women in Hyderabad, Telangana, or India. Acid attacks, rapes, murders of women continue to happen with impunity.
A police force that can kill with impunity, no questions asked, can also rape and kill women, confident that no questions will be asked
We demand a thorough investigation into the alleged "encounter". The police personnel responsible must be arrested and prosecuted, and must be asked to prove in court that all four men were killed in self defence.
Why is this important, not only for human rights but for women's rights? Because a police force that can kill with impunity, no questions asked, can also rape and kill women with impunity, confident that no questions will be asked. Remember the case of teenage Meena Khalkho in Chhattisgarh, gang raped and killed by Chhattisgarh police who then dressed up the killing as an encounter, branding Meena a Maoist.
A judicial enquiry found that the encounter was staged to cover up a gang rape and murder by the police. That gang of rapists and killers are yet to face trial, yet to face any kind of justice.
Many TV channels and right-wing social media armies will tell you that we, the women's movement activists, are the enemy because we do not accept custodial murder and lynching as justice.
These channels and armies are the same who defended the rallies held to protect the accused in the Kathua case, the same who defend the Kathua rapists even after they were convicted in a court of law!
They are the same who brand the complainant in the CJI Gogoi sexual harassment case as a liar, the same who slut-shame JNU and Jadavpur women students who complain of sexual harassment, the same who defend the gang rape accused MLA Kuldeep Sengar.
We, activists of the women's movement, continue to demand substantive justice for women. We want the police to do its job, and protect women's rights, not act as Judge and executioner.
We do not want a mythical "collective conscience" appeased by the murder of men the police declares to be rapists. We want society's conscience to change and be more respectful and supportive of women complainants in rape and sexual harassment cases, and more alert and active in rejecting victim blaming and rape culture.

Comments

Fully agree with the statement

TRENDING

Importance of Bangladesh for India amidst 'growing might' of China in South Asia

By Samara Ashrat*  The basic key factor behind the geopolitical importance of Bangladesh is its geographical location. The country shares land borders with Myanmar and India. Due to its geographical position, Bangladesh is a natural link between South Asia and Southeast Asia.  The country is also a vital geopolitical ally to India, in that it has the potential to facilitate greater integration between Northeast India and Mainland India. Not only that, due to its open access to the Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh has become significant to both China and the US.

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

Nalanda mahavihara By Our Representative Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".

'BBC film shows only tip of iceberg': Sanjiv Bhatt's daughter speaks at top US press club

By Our Representative   The United States' premier journalists' organisation, the National Press Club (NPC), has come down heavily on Prime Minister Narendra Modi for recent "attacks on journalists in India." Speaking at the screening of an episode of the BBC documentary “India: The Modi Question,” banned in India, in the club premises, NPC President Eileen O’Reilly said, “Since Modi came to power we have watched with frustration and disappointment as his regime has suppressed the rights of its citizens to a free and independent news media."

Natural farming: Hamirpur leads the way to 'huge improvement' in nutrition, livelihood

By Bharat Dogra*  Santosh is a dedicated farmer who along with his wife Chunni Devi worked very hard in recent months to convert a small patch of unproductive land into a lush green, multi-layer vegetable garden. This has ensured year-round supply of organically grown vegetables to his family as well as fetched several thousand rupees in cash sales.

Over-stressed? As Naveen Patnaik turns frail, Odisha 'moves closer' to leadership crisis

By Sudhansu R Das  Not a single leader in Odisha is visible in the horizon who can replace Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. He has ruled Odisha for nearly two and half decades. His father, Biju Patnaik, had built Odisha; he was a daring pilot who saved the life of Indonesia’s Prime Minister Sjahrir and President Sukarno when the Dutch army blocked their exit.

Hillary Clinton, Al Gore, Ban Ki-moon, others ask Bangladesh PM to 'protect' Yunus

Counterview Desk  A campaign has been launched to support Bangladesh-based economist, micro-finance guru and Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, seeking signatures from citizens across the globe in order to “protect” his work, life and safety.

Electricity sharing opens up new window for India’s eastern neighbourhood engagement

By Sufian Asif* Today, challenges like climate change, pandemics, energy reliance, economic crisis, and many more are concerning us. No nation can overcome these obstacles without the assistance and collaboration of other nations. Most importantly, many of these problems have international repercussions. South Asia is facing much more difficulty when compared to other regions. In South Asia, we have some regional organizations, but they are ineffective.

Regional political dynamics 'leading to' institutional violence in SAARC University

By Sandeep Pandey*  South Asian University is a university set up in Delhi by member countries of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation – India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Afghanistan and Maldives – which is open to students from all these countries. However, as SAARC is receiving little attention these days because of regional political dynamics, it appears as if SAU has lost significance too. Because of the hiatus in peace process between India and Pakistan, the Board of Governors of this University is dysfunctional.

'Vulgar display of wealth': Govt of India using G20 presidency for political, electoral gains

Counterview Desk  Seeking endorsement for a public statement on India's G20 Presidency, several people’s movements, trade unions and other civil society groups have come together to say that not only will G20 and its priorities “will worsen economic, social and climate crisis”, already, India’s presidency is being used “for vulgar display of pomp & for electoral gains.”